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Viking 2
days ( sol) Lander: days ( sol) | distance_travelled = | orbits_completed = | suborbital_range = | suborbital_apogee = | spacecraft = | spacecraft_type = | spacecraft_bus = | manufacturer = Orbiter:JPL Lander:Martin Marietta | launch_mass = Orbiter: Lander: | BOL_mass = | landing_mass = | dry_mass = | payload_mass = | dimensions = | power = Orbiter:620 W Lander:70 W | launch_date = | launch_rocket = Titan IIIE with Centaur upper stage | launch_site = | launch_contractor = | deployment_from = | deployment_date = | entered_service = | disposal_type = | deactivated = | destroyed = | last_contact = | recovery_by = | recovery_date = | decay_date = | landing_date = | landing_site = | orbit_reference = Areocentric | orbit_regime = | orbit_longitude = | orbit_slot = | orbit_semimajor = | orbit_eccentricity = | orbit_periapsis = | orbit_apoapsis = | orbit_inclination = | orbit_period = | orbit_RAAN = | orbit_arg_periapsis = | orbit_mean_anomaly = | orbit_mean_motion = | orbit_repeat = | orbit_velocity = | orbit_epoch = | orbit_rev_number = | apsis = areion |interplanetary = |apoapsis = |inclination = |apsis = areion }} |distance = }} | trans_band = | trans_frequency = | trans_bandwidth = | trans_capacity = | trans_coverage = | trans_TWTA = | trans_EIRP = | trans_HPBW = | programme = | previous_mission = | next_mission = | insignia = | insignia_caption = | insignia_alt = | insignia_size = }} The Viking 2 mission was part of the American Viking program to Mars, and consisted of an orbiter and a lander essentially identical to that of the Viking 1 mission. The Viking 2 lander operated on the surface for days, or sols, and was turned off on April 11, 1980 when its batteries failed. The orbiter worked until July 25, 1978, returning almost 16,000 images in 706 orbits around Mars. Mission profile The craft was launched on September 9, 1975. Following launch using a Titan/Centaur launch vehicle and a 333-day cruise to Mars, the Viking 2 Orbiter began returning global images of Mars prior to orbit insertion. The orbiter was inserted into a 1500 x 33,000 km, 24.6 h Mars orbit on August 7, 1976 and trimmed to a 27.3 h site certification orbit with a periapsis of 1499 km and an inclination of 55.2 degrees on 9 August. Imaging of candidate sites was begun and the landing site was selected based on these pictures and the images returned by the Viking 1 Orbiter. The lander separated from the orbiter on September 3, 1976 at 22:37:50 UT and landed at Utopia Planitia. Normal operations called for the structure connecting the orbiter and lander (the bioshield) to be ejected after separation, but because of problems with the separation the bioshield was left attached to the orbiter. The orbit inclination was raised to 75 degrees on 30 September 1976. Orbiter The orbiter primary mission ended at the beginning of solar conjunction on October 5, 1976. The extended mission commenced on 14 December 1976 after solar conjunction. On 20 December 1976 the periapsis was lowered to 778 km and the inclination raised to 80 degrees. Operations included close approaches to Deimos in October 1977 and the periapsis was lowered to 300 km and the period changed to 24 hours on 23 October 1977. The orbiter developed a leak in its propulsion system that vented its attitude control gas. It was placed in a 302 × 33,176 km orbit and turned off on 25 July 1978 after returning almost 16,000 images in about 700–706 orbits around Mars. Lander The lander and its aeroshell separated from the orbiter on 3 September 19:39:59 UT. At the time of separation, the lander was orbiting at about 4 km/s. After separation, rockets fired to begin lander deorbit. After a few hours, at about 300 km attitude, the lander was reoriented for entry. The aeroshell with its ablative heat shield slowed the craft as it plunged through the atmosphere. The Viking 2 Lander touched down about 200 km west of the crater Mie in Utopia Planitia at at an altitude of -4.23 km relative to a reference ellipsoid with an equatorial radius of 3397.2 km and a flattening of 0.0105 ( planetographic) at 22:58:20 UT (9:49:05 a.m. local Mars time). Approximately of propellants were left at landing. Due to radar misidentification of a rock or highly reflective surface, the thrusters fired an extra time 0.4 second before landing, cracking the surface and raising dust. The lander settled down with one leg on a rock, tilted at 8.2 degrees. The cameras began taking images immediately after landing. The Viking 2 lander was powered by radioisotope generators and operated on the surface until April 11, 1980, when its batteries failed. Results from the Viking 2 mission Landing site soil analysis The soil resembled those produced from the weathering of basaltic lavas. The tested soil contained abundant silicon and iron, along with significant amounts of magnesium, aluminum, sulfur, calcium, and titanium. Trace elements, strontium and yttrium, were detected. The amount of potassium was one fifth of the average for the Earth's crust. Some chemicals in the soil contained sulfur and chlorine that were like those remaining after the evaporation of sea water. Sulfur was more concentrated in the crust on top of the soil than in the bulk soil beneath. The Sulfur may be present as sulfates of sodium, magnesium, calcium, or iron. A sulfide of iron is also possible.Clark, B. et al. 1976. Inorganic Analysis of Martian Samples at the Viking Landing Sites. Science: 194. 1283–1288. The Spirit Rover and the Opportunity Rover both found sulfates on Mars.Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Press Release Images: Opportunity The Opportunity Rover (landed in 2004 with advanced instruments) found magnesium sulfate and calcium sulfate at Meridiani Planum.Christensen, P. et al. 2004. Mineralogy at Meridiani Planum from the Mini-TES Experiment on the Opportunity Rover. Science: 306. 1733–1739 Using results from the chemical measurements, mineral models suggest that the soil could be a mixture of about 80% iron-rich clay, about 10% magnesium sulfate (kieserite?), about 5% carbonate (calcite), and about 5% iron oxides (hematite, magnetite, goethite?). These minerals are typical weathering products of mafic igneous rocks.Baird, A. et al. 1976. Mineralogic and Petrologic Implications of Viking Geochemical Results From Mars: Interim Report. Science: 194. 1288–1293. All samples heated in the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GCMS) gave off water. However, the way the samples were handled prohibited an exact measurement of the amount of water. But, it was around 1%.Arvidson, R et al. 1989. The Martian surface as Imaged, Sampled, and Analyzed by the Viking Landers. Review of Geophysics:27. 39-60. Studies with magnets aboard the landers indicated that the soil is between 3 and 7 percent magnetic materials by weight. The magnetic chemicals could be magnetite and maghemite, which could come from the weathering of basalt rock.Hargraves, R. et al. 1976. Viking Magnetic Properties Investigation: Further Results. Science: 194. 1303–1309.Arvidson, R, A. Binder, and K. Jones. The Surface of Mars. Scientific American Subsequent experiments carried out by the Mars Spirit Rover (landed in 2004) suggest that magnetite could explain the magnetic nature of the dust and soil on Mars.Bertelsen, P. et al. 2004. Magnetic Properties Experiments on the Mars Exploration rover Spirit at Gusev Crater. Science: 305. 827–829. Search for life Viking carried a biology experiment whose purpose was to look for life. The Viking biology experiment weighed 15.5 kg (34 lb) and consisted of three subsystems: the Pyrolytic Release experiment (PR), the Labeled Release experiment (LR), and the Gas Exchange experiment (GEX). In addition, independent of the biology experiments, Viking carried a Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) that could measure the composition and abundance of organic compounds in the Martian soil.Life on Mars The results were surprising and interesting: the GCMS gave a negative result; the PR gave a positive result, the GEX gave a negative result, and the LR gave a positive result.Viking Data May Hide New Evidence For Life. Barry E. DiGregorio, July 16, 2000. Viking scientist Patricia Straat recently stated, "Our (LR) experiment was a definite positive response for life, but a lot of people have claimed that it was a false positive for a variety of reasons."Viking 2 Likely Came Close to Finding H2O. Most scientists now believe that the data were due to inorganic chemical reactions of the soil; however, this view may be changing after the recent discovery of near-surface ice near the Viking landing zone. Some scientists still believe the results were due to living reactions. No organic chemicals were found in the soil. Mars has almost no ozone layer, unlike the Earth, so UV light sterilizes the surface and produces highly reactive chemicals such as peroxides that would oxidize any organic chemicals.Hartmann, W. 2003. A Traveler's Guide to Mars. Workman Publishing. NY NY. The Phoenix Lander discovered the chemical perchlorate in the Martian soil. Perchlorate is a strong oxidant so it may have destroyed any organic matter on the surface.Alien Rumors Quelled as NASA Announces Phoenix Perchlorate Discovery. A.J.S. Rayl, August 6, 2008. Perchlorate is now considered widespread on Mars making it hard to detect any organic compounds on the Martian surface. ''Viking 2'' lander image gallery File:PSP 001501 2280 RED VL-2 lander.png|Viking 2 lander taken by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (December 2006). File:First Color Image of the Viking Lander 2 Site.jpg|First color image (Viking Lander 2 Camera 2 sol , September 5, 1976) 14:36 File:22g144 netoyee.jpg|thumb|Viking Lander 2 Camera 2 22G144 (Low Resolution Color) Sol 552 19:16 File:Mars Viking 22e169.png|Frost on Mars. File:22i067 FROST.png|thumb|Viking Lander 2 Camera 2 FROST (Low Resolution Color) Sol 955 12:13 File:Mars Viking 21i093.png|Frost at the landing site. (false colour) File:21i090 21i093 21d224-225-226 LOW RESOLUTION COLOR.jpg|thumb|Viking Lander 2 Camera 1 FROST (Low Resolution Color) Sol 960 14:14 File:21i091 HIGH RESOLUTION COLOR.jpg|thumb|Viking Lander 2 Camera 1 FROST HIGH RESOLUTION (With Low Resolution Color) Sol 959 14:39 File:SKY-AT-SUNRISE-(22b023).jpg|thumb|Viking Lander 2 Camera 2 SKY AT SUNRISE (Low Resolution Color) Sol 34 04:22 File:SKY-AT-SUNRISE(22h093).jpg|thumb|Viking Lander 2 Camera 2 SKY AT SUNRISE (Low Resolution Color) Sol 631 04:00 Orbiter results Viking program The Viking Orbiters caused a revolution in our ideas about water on Mars. Huge river valleys were found in many areas. They showed that floods of water carved deep valleys, eroded grooves into bedrock, and traveled thousands of kilometers. Areas of branched streams, in the southern hemisphere, suggested that rain once fell.ISBN 0-8165-1257-4Raeburn, P. 1998. Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet Mars. National Geographic Society. Washington D.C.Moore, P. et al. 1990. The Atlas of the Solar System. Mitchell Beazley Publishers NY, NY. The images below, some of the best from the Viking Orbiters, are mosaics of many small, high resolution images. Click on the images for more detail. Some of the pictures are labeled with place names. File:Streamlined_Islands_in_Maja_Valles.jpg|Streamlined islands seen by Viking showed that large floods occurred on Mars. Image is located in Lunae Palus quadrangle. File:Viking Teardrop Islands.jpg|Tear-drop shaped islands caused by flood waters from Maja Valles, as seen by Viking Orbiter. Image is located in Oxia Palus quadrangle. The islands are formed in the ejecta of Lod, Bok, and Gold craters. File:Chryse Planitia Scour Patterns.jpg|Scour patterns, located in Lunae Palus quadrangle, were produced by flowing water from Maja Valles, which lies just to the left of this mosaic. Detail of flow around Dromore crater is shown on the next image. File:Detail of Maja Valles Flow.jpg|Great amounts of water were required to carry out the erosion shown in this Viking image. Image is located in Lunae Palus quadrangle. The erosion shaped the ejecta around Dromore. File:Vedra,_Maumee,_and_Maja_valles.jpg|Waters from Vedra Valles, Maumee Valles, and Maja Valles flowed from Lunae Planum on the left, to Chryse Planitia on the right. Image is located in Lunae Palus quadrangle and was taken by Viking Orbiter. File:Kasei Valles topolabled.JPG|Area around northern Kasei Valles, showing relationships among Kasei Valles, Bahram Vallis, Vedra Valles, Maumee Valles, and Maja Valles. Map location is in Lunae Palus quadrangle and includes parts of Lunae Planum and Chryse Planitia. File:Flow from Arandas Crater.jpg|The ejecta from Arandas crater acts like mud. It moves around small craters (indicated by arrows), instead of just falling down on them. Craters like this suggest that large amounts of frozen water were melted when the impact crater was produced. Image is located in Mare Acidalium quadrangle and was taken by Viking Orbiter. File:Alba Patera Channels.jpg|This view of the flank of Alba Patera shows several channels/troughs. Some channels are associated with lava flows; others are probably caused by running water. A large trough or graben turns into a line of collapse pits. Image is located in Arcadia quadrangle and was taken by Viking Orbiter. File:Branched Channels from Viking.jpg|Branched channels in Thaumasia quadrangle, as seen by Viking Orbiter. Networks of channels like this are strong evidence for rain on Mars in the past. File:Dissected Channels, as seen by Viking.jpg|The branched channels seen by Viking from orbit strongly suggested that it rained on Mars in the past. Image is located in Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle. File:Ravi Vallis.jpg|Ravi Vallis, as seen by Viking Orbiter. Ravi Vallis was probably formed when catastrophic floods came out of the ground to the right (chaotic terrain). Image located in Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle. File:Deimos-viking1.jpg|Deimos, photo taken in 1977. Lander location See also References External links *Viking 2 Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration Category:Viking program Category:1975 in spaceflight Category:Missions to Mars Category:Derelict landers (spacecraft) Category:Cebrenia quadrangle Category:Nuclear-powered robots Category:Spacecraft launched by Titan rockets Category:Soft landings on Mars Category:Spacecraft launched in 1975